Liberty University Loosens Guns On Campus Rules To Allow Concealed Carry In Classrooms

Liberty University, the largest religion-affiliated U.S. school, is loosening restrictions for carrying firearms on its Lynchburg, Va., campus.

Liberty students who have an easy-to-obtain Virginia concealed carry permit and permission from campus police will now be able to carry a loaded gun into classrooms, according to a March 22 revision to school policy. University staff and visitors may also bring firearms into university buildings on campus, WSET reported. Students remain banned from bringing guns into residence halls, even with a permit.

"Students ought to have the ability to protect themselves," Josh Hetzler, a law student who helped draft the new policy, told WDBJ. "We've seen a number of instances here in the nation recently were schools are particularly vulnerable. They're gun free zones, except that the bad guys still get the guns."

There are still restrictions. People on probation, students in violation of any academic or honor code, or those who have "been arrested for or charged with any assault, battery, stalking, crime of violence, or felony" are not allowed to carry guns on campus. Only residence hall directors will be allowed to bring guns into a dorm.

Most colleges prohibit the carrying of concealed handguns.

“I think it's good that Liberty is a little more open than some schools, and I think it’ll continue to create a higher level of security on campus than what was found at Virginia Tech," Jerry Falwell Jr., Liberty chancellor, told the News & Advance.

“A student with a concealed weapon is unlikely to prevent a mass shooting or crime," John Johnson, spokesman for the Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus, told the News & Advance. "On the other hand, the unintended consequences of gun possession by students and others -- a shooting during an argument or dispute, attempted suicide, unintentional shooting, etc. -- are real and make the college campus more dangerous every hour of every day."

Liberty University Loosens Guns On Campus Rules To Allow Concealed Carry In Classrooms

Pivotal Moments In The Federal Gun Control Debate

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1981: The Attempted Assassination Of President Ronald Reagan

on March 30, 1981, President Reagan and three others were shot and wounded in an assassination attempt by John Hinckley, Jr. outside the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. Reagan's press secretary, Jim Brady, was shot in the head.